Latest news with #DEFIANCE
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ocasio-Cortez reintroduces bill to empower AI deepfake victims
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would give those depicted in nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes the power to take civil action against those who make or distribute the imagery. Ocasio-Cortez co-led the reintroduction of the bill with Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) in the House and Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in the upper chamber. The bill is backed by another five senators and nine House members. The legislation, titled the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act, would give survivors and victims of nonconsensual deepfake pornography the 'legal right to pursue justice,' Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. Should the bill pass, civil actions will be able to be pursued against the individuals who create, distribute or possess with the intent to spread these deepfakes. 'Although the imagery may be fake, the harm to the victims is very real,' Durbin said in a statement Wednesday. 'Victims have lost their jobs, their reputations, and many have suffered from life-altering depression or anxiety.' It comes on the heels of President Trump's signing of the Take It Down Act on Monday, which criminalizes the publication of nonconsensual deepfake imagery. The Take It Down Act further requires websites to take down the content without 48 hours and make 'reasonable efforts' to remove duplicate images. The DEFIANCE Act aims to build upon the progress of the Take it Down Act by focusing on civil resources to 'complement' one another, Lee said. 'Together, they both create both accountability and recourse,' Lee said. The bill unanimously passed the Senate last year but did not reach the House floor for a vote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Ocasio-Cortez renews push against explicit AI deepfakes
View Online The Big Story Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would give victims of nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes the power to take civil action against those who make or distribute the imagery. © Ross D. Franklin, Associated Press Ocasio-Cortez co-led the reintroduction of the bill with Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) in the House and Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in the upper chamber. The legislation, titled The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act, would give survivors and victims of nonconsensual deepfake pornography the 'legal right to pursue justice,' Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. The bill would allow pursuing civil action against individuals who create, distribute or possess with the intent to spread such deepfakes. 'Although the imagery may be fake, the harm to the victims is very real,' Durbin said in a statement Wednesday. 'Victims have lost their jobs, their reputations, and many have suffered from life-altering depression or anxiety.' It comes on the heels of President Trump's signing of the Take It Down Act on Monday, which criminalized the publication of nonconsensual deepfake imagery. The Take It Down Act further requires websites to take down the content without 48 hours and make 'reasonable efforts' to remove duplicate images. The DEFIANCE Act aims to build upon the progress of the Take it Down Act by focusing on civil recourse and 'complement' one another, Lee said. Read more in a report at Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, we're >Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: Wyden says senators weren't warned about surveillance on phones Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said Wednesday that three major phone carriers failed to establish systems to notify offices about surveillance requests, as required by their Senate contracts. His 'Dear Colleague' letter said AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile did not notify lawmakers when their Senate-funded lines were being monitored by the executive branch or other entities. 'If law enforcement officials, whether … Musk says he's been targeted by 'legacy media propaganda' Elon Musk on Tuesday blamed 'legacy media propaganda' for the public's increasing criticism of him since he entered the political fold. 'Well, I mean, unfortunately, what I've learned is that legacy media propaganda is very effective at making people believe things that aren't true,' Musk said when asked on CNBC's 'Power Lunch' if his work for President Trump was worth the backlash. … Google adding chatbot-like 'AI Mode' to search Google is adding a new chatbot-like feature called 'AI Mode' to its search engine amid a push to further incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into its products. 'AI Mode' will appear as a new tab for Google search users starting Tuesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced at the company's annual developer conference. 'For those who want an end-to-end AI search experience, we are introducing an all-new … Southwest requiring flyers to use portable chargers in plain sight Southwest Airlines is implementing a rule later this month that will require flyers who use portable chargers and batteries while traveling on their flights to keep the electronics in plain sight, citing potential fire risks. The airline said the regulation will take effect May 28 and that some customers may start getting notifications about it on its mobile app. 'Southwest will introduce a first-in-industry Safety policy … The Refresh News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: Crypto Corner Bitcoin tops $109K, setting new record Bitcoin hit a new high Wednesday, rising above $109,000 for the first time. The price of one Bitcoin surged last fall as the crypto industry adopted a bullish outlook following President Trump's election win. However, it slumped in recent months, dipping to $75,000 in early April. Bitcoin has not been immune to factors, such as Trump's expansive tariff regime and trade war with China, that have also weighed on traditional markets. However, the price of Bitcoin has recovered over the past few weeks, as Trump has pulled back somewhat on tariffs. The crypto industry has also secured several key wins. Coinbase became the first crypto platform to join the S&P 500 on Monday, the same day the Senate voted to advance stablecoin legislation. As of late Wednesday, the price of Bitcoin had eased slightly, hovering around $108,000. In Other News Branch out with other reads on The Hill: Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt discovery in DOGE case The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to halt discovery in a lawsuit seeking access to documents and information about the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) operations. The emergency application asks the justices to lift a judge's order allowing limited discovery into whether DOGE is an 'agency,' which would make it subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Solicitor … What Others are Reading Two key stories on The Hill right now: Trump hits South African president with video 'genocide' claims: 5 takeaways President Trump's meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took an unexpected turn Wednesday when Trump showed a video filled with … Read more Judge scolds DOJ in dismissing ICE facility trespassing charge against Newark mayor A federal judge chided the Department of Justice (DOJ) during a Wednesday hearing where he agreed to dismiss a trespassing charge against Newark Mayor … Read more You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here
The Hill
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Ocasio-Cortez reintroduces bill to empower AI deepfake victims
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would give those depicted in nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes the power to take civil action against those who make or distribute the imagery. Ocasio-Cortez co-led the reintroduction of the bill with Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) in the House and Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in the upper chamber. The bill is backed by another five senators and nine House members. The legislation, titled The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE), would give survivors and victims of nonconsensual deepfake pornography the 'legal right to pursue justice,' Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. Should the bill pass, civil actions will be able to be pursued against the individuals who create, distribute or possess with the intent to spread these deepfakes. 'Although the imagery may be fake, the harm to the victims is very real,' Durbin said in a statement Wednesday. 'Victims have lost their jobs, their reputations, and many have suffered from life-altering depression or anxiety.' It comes on the heels of President Trump's signing of the Take It Down Act on Monday, which criminalized the publication of nonconsensual deepfake imagery. The Take It Down Act further requires websites to take down the content without 48 hours and make 'reasonable efforts' to remove duplicate images. The DEFIANCE Act aims to build upon the progress of the Take it Down Act by focusing on civil resource and 'complement' one another, Lee said. 'Together, they both create both accountability and recourse,' Lee said. The bill unanimously passed the Senate last year but did not reach the House floor for a vote.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
AOC to Reintroduce Bill Combating Deepfake AI Porn
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is re-introducing her bill to provide civil recourse for survivors of non-consensual sexually-explicit deepfakes. Ocasio-Cortez is co-leading the bicameral bill with Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act was originally introduced last year and unanimously passed the Senate but did not make it to a vote at the House of Representatives. The bipartisan legislation currently has nine co-sponsors and will be re-introduced in both the Senate and House on Wednesday. The legislation amends the Violence Against Women Act so that survivors can sue those who produce, distribute, or receive the deepfake pornography, if they knew the victim did not consent to those images. Deepfakes can be pictures or videos that have been manipulated by technology, for example through image software like Photoshop or artificial intelligence. The rise of easy-to-use AI-generated technology has made it easier than ever to create fake images that are extremely difficult to distinguish from reality. 'We are reintroducing the DEFIANCE Act to grant survivors and victims of nonconsensual deepfake pornography the legal right to pursue justice,' Ocasio-Cortez says in a statement. 'I am proud to lead this legislation with Representative Lee, and Senators Durbin and Graham to provide victims with the federal protections they deserve.' On Monday, President Donald Trump signed into law the Take It Down Act, which is the first federal law to criminalize the publication of both authentic and AI-generated nonconsensual sexually-explicit images or videos. The people or platforms publishing the images can face criminal penalties. Ocasio-Cortez and the co-leads say that the DEFIANCE Act builds on the progress made by the passage of Take It Down. They see it as a complement to the Take It Down Act, one that focuses on giving survivors a civil recourse. The legislators and their teams spoke to multiple deepfake abuse survivor organizations while working on the bill. What they heard from survivors was that sometimes people want a civil right of action rather than going through the criminal justice system, so the DEFIANCE Act would provide a way for victims to have multiple pathways toward justice. 'By introducing the DEFIANCE Act, we're giving power back to the victims; cracking down on the production, receipt, distribution, and possession of 'deepfake' images; and holding those responsible for the images accountable,' Durbin says in the press release. Last year, Ocasio-Cortez sat down with Rolling Stone to talk about her experience as a survivor of deepfake AI abuse. 'There's a shock to seeing images of yourself that someone could think are real,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'It's not as imaginary as people want to make it seem. It parallels the same exact intention of physical rape and sexual assault, [which] is about power, domination, and humiliation. Deepfakes are absolutely a way of digitizing violent humiliation against other people.' Omny Miranda Martone, founder and CEO of the Sexual Violence Prevention Association, is one of the survivors who worked with Ocasio-Cortez and Lee's teams as they were drafting the legislation. 'I know how hard it is to speak out,' Martone tells Rolling Stone. 'I was targeted with several deepfake pornography attacks. Disgusting violating images of 'me' were shared on social media and emailed to my organization in an attempt to silence my advocacy. As a victim, I deeply appreciate Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Lee's strength and bravery to take action and speak out.' More from Rolling Stone Stream Bruce Springsteen's Great New Live EP to Anger Donald Trump Trump Judge Slams Supreme Court, Says Courts Are 'Not a Denny's' Live Nation Names Trump Crony Ric Grenell to Its Board of Directors Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
